
Sculpture was retrieved from German battleship sunk in 1939 Battle of the River Plate but its future is controversial
The enormous bronze sculpture of an eagle clutching a swastika in its talons spent nearly 70 years lying at the bottom of the River Plate, off the coast of Uruguay.
After being salvaged in 2006, it briefly went on display in the Uruguayan capital – before the government reconsidered the wisdom of granting such prominence to a Nazi emblem, and the eagle was hidden away on a military base.
Continue reading...Having painted London as a crime-ridden no-go zone, you’d have thought the Conservatives might cut McSweeney some slack
In recent years, the Conservatives and the rightwing media have gone to great lengths to tell us that London has become a no-go zone. A hellscape where women are afraid to leave their homes. Where every person of colour is a criminal. Where simply using your phone is an invitation to be mugged. Where the police do nothing, and to make it through the day alive is as much as anyone could hope for.
So you would have thought that when Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer’s then chief of staff, rings the police from his personal mobile to report that his government phone has been stolen, the Tories might cut him a little slack. What do you expect if you are mad enough to be using your phone at 10.30pm on a London street? Count yourself lucky you weren’t killed.
Continue reading...Try not to Google this true story of a London record shop used by undercover police to ensnare teens. As the astonishing details of what really happened unfold, you will pray for more fantastic telly like this to be made
The UK launch of HBO Max has brought with it some major US series (no more waiting for The Pitt!). More unexpectedly, perhaps, its launch slate also includes this distinctly British true-crime docudrama about a record shop/recording studio in Edmonton, north London. Teens involved in petty crime came to Boom Box to keep off the streets – only to find that the studio itself was a hotbed of gang-related activity. It’s an astonishing tale which is told totally fantastically here, in a series that hopefully heralds HBO Max as a platform that will champion British (as well as American) TV.
I strongly advise against Googling Boom Box (the show), or Boom Box (the recording studio), lest you spoil the eventual, frankly ridiculous revelations this series contains. There is one piece of information, however, that does feel impossible to merely hint at: the people these teenagers were getting involved with were not criminals – they were undercover police officers, who had targeted the area after a spate of murders in 2008. As its four episodes unfold, the ethics of what those officers did is questioned by those who feel they were ensnared at Boom Box, and manipulated to commit serious crimes they would never have thought about otherwise. Dramatic reconstructions are contrasted with interviews, which are then contrasted with more dramatic reconstructions which feature the same cast but tell a different story – one from the point of view of law enforcement. The whole thing is very meta, and that’s before the people playing the Boom Box teens get talking to the actors playing them.
Boom Box: Beats and Betrayal is on HBO Max now.
Continue reading...As the Artemis II crew prepare for the first moon mission since 1972, we select the best songs about our lunar neighbour, from Ella Fitzgerald’s romance to Gil Scott-Heron’s social commentary
This tribute to comedian Andy Kaufman came at the height of REM’s superstardom, but it’s a typically elliptical song that defies easy analysis, the chorus seeming to compare the moon landing conspiracy theories with claims Kaufman faked his own death. Its bassline recalls another lunar classic, The Killing Moon by Echo and the Bunnymen.
Continue reading...Timing lags in the retail industry mean the impact of fuel and fabric inflation may not be felt until autumn ranges land
In the context of Next, which has just reported full-year pre-tax profits of £1.16bn, an estimated £15m of extra fuel and air freight costs arising from the Middle East conflict is tiny. The sum, which in any case assumes disruption lasts three months, can be lost in the wash, or more precisely “offset by savings elsewhere”.
The chief executive, Simon Wolfson, a boss who tends to err on the side of caution when guiding on profits, saw no reason not to add £8m to this year’s number as a mechanical read-through from last year’s outcome. If there wasn’t a war on, one can assume there would have been a proper profit upgrade. After all, trading seems to have been going like a train up until late-February – “encouraging” in the UK and “strong” overseas.
Continue reading...Cadaver fat from organ and tissue donors is being used for cosmetic procedures – and yup, it’s legal in the US, writes advice columnist Jessica DeFino
Hi Ugly,
I recently became aware of new cosmetic injectables derived from cadaver fat – as in, made of dead people. Apparently the fat is harvested from organ and tissue donors and used for procedures like Brazilian butt lifts and boob jobs.
Why is this column called ‘Ask Ugly’?
How should I be styling my pubic hair?
How do I deal with imperfection?
My father had plastic surgery. Now he wants me and my mother to get work done
Continue reading...US president addresses conflict at cabinet meeting with fresh barbs against Nato and the UK in particular
An Iranian envoy has said South Korean ships can pass through the strait of Hormuz only after coordinating with Tehran, the Yonhap News Agency has reported.
Such an agreement had to be reached in advance of the transit, said Saeed Khuzechi, the Iranian ambassador to South Korea, at a press conference in response to a question about guarantees for South Korean vessels to navigate the vital conduit for oil.
Continue reading...US president says he is ‘very disappointed’ as he again lashes out at allies’ lack of involvement in Iran war
Donald Trump has dismissed British warships as “toys” in his latest jibe at Nato countries for their lack of involvement in the joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Speaking at the White House on Thursday, he claimed he had told the UK: “Don’t bother, we don’t need it.”
Trump has previously alleged that he requested two aircraft carriers from the UK that Keir Starmer had initially rejected and then offered to send. No 10 has denied that a request was made or denied.
Continue reading...Many of the vessels willing to make the crossing are taking an alternative route through Iranian waters
Threats to shipping have effectively closed the strait of Hormuz since the US-Israel war on Iran began four weeks ago – upending global oil and gas supplies and sending energy prices soaring.
In normal times, tankers carry about a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies through the narrow channel and on to the rest of the world, while about a third of the global fertilisers necessary for half of the world’s food production pass through in dry bulk vessels.
Continue reading...Pensions minister promises the ‘full truth’ as external advisers are hired to identify the scale of the errors
The chief executive of the state-backed National Savings and Investments bank has been forced out over a scandal that left thousands of bereaved families owed almost £500m.
The savings institution is in discussions with the Treasury to repay about 37,500 people who collectively have £470m in deposits trapped in the bank after long-running operational errors.
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